Untold Truths
by somesquidkidfrominkopolis
Summary: Conflict is eternal. Rated M for real world themes, strong language, and violence.
1. Chapter 1

Untold Truths

"Alright, Seth... you know where to go from here."

Two men were standing in the silent, starry night, the street they were on as empty as a closed arena. A perfect place to have a 'private conversation'. Seth adjusted his grip on the large, bulky suitcase in his hand. "...are you sure it's time? It seems like the General might be rushing this plan a little."

"Of course it's time, brother. It was time the moment Octavio's blood hit the ground."

"Yeah, but... it's kind of lame that we have no idea what's next. You know, after I actually go through with this."

"I trust that the General will give the correct direction, but if not... at least we'll have died as lions rather than cowering in a shit-crested corner like the rest."

Seth sighed and rubbed his palm against his face. "Fine, Paad, whatever. Just tell me which floor."

The other man pointed up at the building. "Forth floor, room 403. It should give you the best view of both of them." Seth was handed a key. "Hey... avenge Octavio for me." Seth was given a pat on the back before Paad began walking away.

"Hang on!" Paad kept walking. "Which one do I cap?"

Paad slowed down and turned his head, shouting out, "...it doesn't matter, really. Leader just wants one of them dead." A few seconds of silence hung in the air. "Try to kill both. You know what it was like when those bastards didn't finish the job."

* * *

"Yo, dude..." The music was way too loud for the Inkling to be heard, so he gave his friend a nudge on the shoulder. The other Inkling responded, turning his head towards the direction of the nudge. "You get anything in the mail yet?"

The pyrotechnics of the show in front of them momentarily lit up the seating area, a flash that ended as quickly as it began. The turquoise-haired Inkling twisted his eyebrows in confusion. "WHAT!?"

"I SAID... DID YOU GET ANYTHING IN THE MAIL YET?!"

That confusion quickly turned into not too different bewilderment. "WHY ARE YOU WORRYING ABOUT MAIL?! IKA, THE SQI-" The music blared, muffling the second part of the other Inkling's sentence completely.

Ika leaned back in his seat. They were silent for a bit, the current song switching to the next. In the few seconds of silence, his friend nudged Ika's shoulder this time around.

"Hey... guess what I got." He shuffled through his bag, looking through the papers that were in it and inspecting them as closely as he could with the current lighting situation. "Draft card, no... work certificate, no..."

"So you did get something in the mail-" Ika was cut off when he was handed two pieces of paper. Inspecting them closely... then inspecting them again. Printed on them were the words 'BACKSTAGE PASS', typewritten like the rest. "Meshi... holy sh-" The second song blasted suddenly, making both of the squids as well as the rest of the massive crowd jolt in their chairs.

Ika really doesn't remember their performances being this loud. When he was allowed into the plaza and arenas for Splatfest back just a day ago, it was always kind of quiet. He guessed that turf war wasn't 'in' for him and that it's hip and overall fresher to go deaf from listening to pop music than it is shooting ink at people.

* * *

Seth opened the briefcase. Inside was a disassembled sniper rifle.

* * *

"...HOW MANY PEOPLE GOT THOSE PASSES?!" Ika handed the passes back to Meshi. The other Inkling quickly pocketed them.

"TEN OR SO! ONLY CALL-" The music once again rudely interrupted.

* * *

Seth aimed through the scope of the assembled rifle, shifting his aim onto Marie and trembling. No matter what he could do, he doesn't think he could shoot Marie. There's too much history. "Fuck... fuck fuck fuck..." It was clear to Seth that he had to choose who to kill, and it wasn't an easy choice. Since he was physically unable to even take a shot at the Squid Sister he was aiming at, he shifted the aim to Callie. "I'm so sorry."

* * *

"WHAT?!"

"I SAID ONLY CALLIE!"

"...YOU COULDN'T GET BOTH?!"

To the average Inkling, what looked and sounded like a pyrotechnic display coming out of one of the distant buildings started... and then immediately petered out into a puff of smoke. A loud crack echoed through the air as Callie stopped dancing and stumbled back a bit. She clutched her chest, the blood seeping into her dress, before she collapsed backwards.

Immediately, the crowd looked around confused, loud questioning prevailing like a cancer, getting up from their seats in case she wasn't the only one.

* * *

Seth looked upon what he did for longer than he should have, throwing the rifle down and hurriedly taking a picture with his Polaroid camera of his work. As he took the undeveloped picture out, a tear streamed down the Octarian's face. He really wished this weren't necessary.


	2. Chapter 2

Marie had already started running when the first shot echoed through the plaza. Backstage was the safest place for something like this. Security was immediately tipped off. And then the confusion in the crowd turned into pandemonium. The idol singer was about to say something to the security, but they brushed by her too fast to get a word in.

The microphone was the first thing to come off, discarded on the ground before anything else. Nobody needed to hear what was going on backstage. Marie only got more worried when Callie hadn't followed her.

Maybe she was in the green room... yeah, that could be it. She's probably already there, which is why in all the chaos it didn't look like she went backstage. Doesn't explain the screaming, though... was that because of the bullet?

She quickly made her way down the hall to the green room. The performance manager, lingering in that same hallway, moved herself so that she was walking to the idol's side. "Hey, Marie, aren't you still supposed to be out ther-"

"SOMEBODY GET THE DOC!"

* * *

Seth wiped the stray tear off of his face, putting on a stoic mask for when he went outside, then took the scope off of the sniper rifle and eyed it. It didn't look like it was coated with anything anti-reflective at all. This was good for Seth. Gives him an excuse as to why he didn't shoot both of them.

He threw the sniper rifle down and began making his way down the building.

* * *

Down the same hallway backstage, four security guards were huddled together and walking at a swift pace. It looked like they were carrying a body; whoever that was in their arms was completely limp. There were some signs of life. Either pained moans or gurgling were coming from the body, it was hard to tell. It didn't matter too much to Marie, as long as it was just a security guard and not...

The manager seemed a little less optimistic. An expression that one could only describe as pure shock graced her face, though she tried to hide it around the idol. "I-I'm gonna go check that out. Stay in the green room."

The green room was right there, so Marie obediently opened the door to see... not Callie. A red-haired Inkling, still a very close friend to Marie, was the only one in there. He looked up from his phone for a moment before trying to scroll through again. "...what's going on out there? I'm trying to get updates from Squidder, but nobody's saying anything."

The idol closed the door behind her and sat down next to the red-haired Inkling, planting her palm onto her face. "Gunshot."

He looked up from his phone. "...wait, what."

"Glint of the scope shone in my eye before it happened."

"What... what about Callie, is she...?"

Marie looked up at him. "I don't know, Nara. I just... don't know. I thought she would've been in here."

* * *

Any sense of order in the seating area was broken by the gunshot. People were crammed into their seats by the moving crowd, and news didn't travel very well for the people who didn't see where the shot landed. Meshi was informed pretty quickly after the event.

"It was... right in her chest, man." Ika sighed, trying his best to follow the crowd as they trampled through, the chaotic chatter and occasional scream almost as loud as the performance itself. Meshi was in front of him, doing a rather good job at ploughing through the crowd. "I hope she's okay."

Meshi looked back at Ika. "Hey, you know what it probably was? Octarians."

"Didn't we get rid of those guys? You know... by shutting down their kettles?"

"Yeah, and the Squid Sisters were totally one-squid armies too. I mean, just look at Callie."

The performance manager walked quickly onto the stage. "Your attention, please!" The crowd stopped in some places but not in others, with almost a complete trampling of those who had stopped. "Due to unforeseen events, we will not be able to take backstage passes." It seemed like the manager was trying to regain control of the crowd, but to no avail. "Refunds will be handed out at the exits!"

Meshi nudged behind himself to Ika, trying their best not to slow down in fear of the same fate as the ones who did. "Hey, no shit, huh?"

Ika struggled to follow. "At least we're getting refunded."

"I'd be furious if we weren't. I know these things are usually corrupt money laundering schemes, but..."

"You'd be surprised."

"Please. It'd cause a riot. Look at the crowd already."

* * *

Ten minutes had passed and the Splatfest had ground to a halt. Matchmaking simply wasn't happening. Inklings had been kept in their prep rooms for much longer than usual. Inkopolis News was struggling to figure out how to cope with this. They didn't think a broadcast without Callie or Marie around was necessary, but as news surfaced of what happened to Callie, it was becoming clear that the people had a right to know.

The broadcast started with a simple 'Breaking News' heading with no music. It was obvious this heading had not been used for several decades. Instead of the familiar sight of Callie and Marie, the broadcast cut to an Inkling in his mid-20s, wearing a formal suit and holding pieces of paper in front of himself.

"Good evening, I'm Rabas from Inkopolis News. Just a few minutes ago, we have gotten word from several sources that Callie, Squid Sister and one of the most iconic pop stars of this generation, has been shot during one of her many performances thrown to commemorate Splatfest.

Unfortunately, since both sides of the Splatfest are unable to continue normal operation, we are forced to postpone the event until further notice. Normal turf war activity will resume and future announcements will be given by me until either one or both of the Squid Sisters are able to report. We will give out further details on the shooting as they appear."

The broadcast ended.


	3. Chapter 3

"...a flash from Inkopolis Press; two family members who were with Mrs. Cuttlefish say that she is dead of bullet wounds. This is the latest information we have from Inkopolis Press. I will repeat with the greatest regret, two family members who were with Mrs. Cuttlefish say she has died of bullet wounds..."

"...Mrs. Callie Cuttlefish died at approximately 1 AM, Inkopolis Standard Time, today here in Inkopolis General Hospital. She died of a gunshot wound in the left lung. I have no other details regarding the assassination of Mrs. Cuttlefish..."

"...we now have several sources to confirm that Mrs. Cuttlefish is dead and that she died early this morning, at 1 AM, Inkopolis Standard Time. There are still no leads on the assailant, nor have there been any crime scenes marked by the Military Police during this current investigation..."

Rabas shuffled through his papers, walking around the press room. "Talk to me, guys! What's going on?"

An intern comes up to Rabas, handing him a few papers. "Inkopolis Press is reporting that she's on a morgue slab right now."

He put the papers down and made a dishevelled groan. "...fuuuuck. We're not going to be able to use those clips anymore, are we?"

"I've already put them in the archive. Looks like you're reporting until we get word from Marie."

"Marie ain't gonna come in. Her sister-"

"Cousin."

"What the fuck ever. Point is, a close family member just died. It's going to take months for her to feel like getting back into the game. Not to mention the fact that the MP might put her into protection because of this." Rabas got steadily angrier as the sentence went on, almost to the point of yelling. He stopped himself short and collected himself before continuing around the press room.

People on phones connecting directly to Inkopolis Press, and by extension the state, were constantly answering phone calls from both primary and secondary sources. Rabas walked up to them. "Hey, anything we can use?"

A brief moment of peace for one of these Inklings was wasted on answering this. "Not yet. Spin it on the Octarians or some shit if you really need a story."

* * *

Paad knocked on the grungy bathroom door, absolutely delighted by the news. "Hey, Seth! Ding dong, the witch is dead!"

There was no response from Seth. Only vomiting.

"...come on, Seth, don't be so weak stomached. We carried out the will of the leader. Their entire society has been thrown into chaos." He walked around the kitchen.

The wood of the floor was unfinished and scratched, the walls coming apart. The lights were off; there was no way either Seth or Paad could afford to turn them on. The door, visible from there, was barricaded with several pieces of furniture to keep intruders out and to keep it closed all the way. The stove was essentially just a propane tank with a tray on it.

Paad spoke again. "No more can those fucking Inklings hide behind a shroud of safety. The world has been opened up to them, and they will share our feelings."

Seth vomited again. "Are you going to vomit like that when we eventually take them over? Isn't that what you always wanted, brother? To live in those ivory towers that the Inklings selfishly took from us?"

* * *

Family dinner was awkward for Ika today. Halfway into it, the news dropped. He just saw someone get shot and die on stage. Not something you really want to end on when it comes to how you remember turf war.

Unlike the good old Octarians living just southeast of them, their kitchen (and dining room, something that Seth and Paad lacked) was almost immaculate save for the small grime collected from cooking this one meal. The lights were not only on, but as bright as they could be.

Despite this, Ika doesn't feel any happier about his situation. Why would he? He has lived in these conditions all his life. The only exposure to violence he had aside from this assassination was turf war. He had a feeling that he wasn't alone on that.

"...Dad?"

"Yes, Ika?"

"Who would do something like this?"

Ika's father looked to his mother, shrugging a bit. "There's a lot of things school doesn't teach you, son. When you become an adult... these things have to come from first-hand experience. For example, your mother and I didn't know about Octo Valley until we were in our... mid 20s, was it?"

Ika's mother paused for a moment. "...oh, yes! It was actually quite a bit later for me, late 20s I'd probably say."

"That was back when that sort of thing was really taking off. If it got really bad, we had our draft cards."

"Speak for yourself! Us women didn't get our draft cards until... fourth year in?"

Ika crossed his arms, smug. "Well, it's a good thing I already know what that is! It's that underground place with all the kettles and stuff where those... Octarians live."

Both mother and father turned to look at Ika nervously. The dad chuckled a bit. "Is that what they're teaching kids these days?"

Ika's eyes widened. "You mean it isn't?"

The dad grew a worried expression. "Son... let's sit down after dinner. I think the education system might've failed you in one way or another."


	4. Chapter 4

The streets of Octo Valley weren't much better than Seth's living arrangements. Quite the contrary. They managed to get somewhere in the good part of town. The streets were made of crumbling cobblestone. The buildings, drab gray and made out of brick. Intact windows were a rarity; most of them were shattered or simply not installed.

Garbage was strewn in half-open bags along the narrow streets, clothes hanging up on strings suspended high up between tenements. Barbed wire topped one of the most pristine walls in the city. Seth was on the border between Inkopolis and Octo Valley.

Even with the level of upkeep the border goes through, there are still gaps. Holes that can be exploited. Seth saw one every day when he went to work. Speaking of going to work... Paad was walking to his side as Seth made his way there. Life went on as normal despite the shooting; the only difference was that Seth felt nauseous for almost the entire day. "So, brother... your stomach's less upset today, yes?"

"Of course it is. I'd still be in that bathroom if it weren't."

"Fair point. You got the Polaroid?"

Seth took a Polaroid picture out of his tattered hoodie's pockets, giving it to Paad without daring to look at it. It's not clear the position the victim was in or the amount of injury, but it was obvious that it was taken from a very far distance; much further than the seating area which would've saw her collapse without being the gunman.

"Excellent work, Seth... you do need to work on your photography skills just a little bit, but this should be fine."

* * *

"Well, you see, son... Octarians are like us. We bleed the same, we look the same aside from a few inane differences that really shouldn't matter, and... well, that's pretty much it. I don't know where that whole tentacle thing came from."

"So why don't we see them around? If they aren't underground."

"Great Turf War. Basically, we sort of... took their land. All of it. Octarians were too war-weary to do anything about it, so they asked if maybe they could have a spot in Inkopolis."

"...and?"

"They got a spot, but it's... not like the rest of Inkopolis. They got put into Octo Valley, which for all intents and purposes is... a ghetto. Not going to sugar coat it."

* * *

Rabas shuffled the papers in his hands. "...this is a declaration of war."

An intern leaned next to him and nodded. "Mmhm."

"They haven't even done an investigation yet, what the hell..."

"It might've been that report you wrote."

"The one I haven't aired yet?"

"MP says it's a good propaganda piece. Hardening Inkling resolve against Takoyaki's tyrannical ways or something like that. Combined with the declaration of war, it should allow for people to take their emotions out on Octo Valley rather than the state."

Rabas read closer. "They're deploying the... military?"

"Limited deployment first, special forces. Then if things get really hairy, they'll get the infantry."

"Special forces is, like... what, a million people?"

"Hey, don't shoot the messenger. Take it up with the state if you're really brave enough for that."

* * *

"What about... the sunken scrolls? There were some that basically disproved what you're saying right now."

"Do you want me to take you out to the wall? Because that wall is much better evidence than those scrolls." Ika's dad sighed. "In fact, there was this whole scandal about a lot of fabricated scrolls being in that collection back in my day... guess the youngsters didn't learn about that."

"...how much of it was faked?"

"Quite a lot. The state was pretty clever about it. They mixed in actual information with mistruths or general lies with that collection, said 'that's just what we found', then never talked about the scandal after that. You could protest it, but..."

"But what?"

"I'll tell you later. It's getting late."

Ika looked at the clock. "Jeez, it's midnight already. Guess time flies when you're being told that everything you ever knew was wrong."

"Well, hey. I'm not very happy that none of this is being taught to you."

"Maybe I missed it."

"Please... I've seen your marks. No way you missed this much."

"Well, anyway, I had no idea any of this was happening, so thanks for telling me."

"It's no problem, really. If you have any other questions, I'll probably be able to answer them. Your old man's got a lot of things to say."

"Well... okay, just one more question. Did rising sea levels really kill everything off? I mean... the sunken scrolls basically being fake kind of throws that into question."

Ika's dad shrugged. "Maybe. Maybe not. Truth is, nobody knows about that one. Fossil was definitely faked though."

"How can you tell?"

"They actually... took the plastics out of the stone bed. They were in pristine condition. I think that's as much evidence as any."


	5. Chapter 5

Being a sniper wasn't as glamorous as people made it seem during Basic. Days without moving, food or water. Quiet. The only company a spotter. Yearning to do something but being told 'not yet'. The apartment that the two soldiers had set up in, shelled and exposed to the sun of the Inkopolis summer, became their purgatory.

She had been aiming at General Octavio's position for about three days now. She even had points where the urge to take the shot almost overwhelmed her. HQ kept saying no. It wasn't time yet. When would the time ever come? Would the time ever come? The red-haired Inkling at her side picked up the radio and listened in.

He turned his head towards her. "Take the shot."

So she did. She aimed the rifle and pulled the trigger.

Callie fell to the ground, clutching her shoulder and letting off a blood-curdling scream. The gurgles of the Inkling language left from the sheer volume, a primal cry as loud as a jackhammer.

Marie woke up.

* * *

Rabas trembled. "Are you really sure about this?"

"Listen... Inkopolis Press had told us that every single news corporation has to report this."

"I dunno... these are kids we're talking about. Some of them are just starting turf war."

"Good. Then they'll grow up and remember the pain the Octarians caused. They took away one of their fucking idols. They must be stewing with rage right now." The intern gave new papers.

"What are these?"

"State has figured we don't need to mention the deployment right now."

Rabas read it over. "Well, yeah, these kids aren't eligible for the draft. At least, I hope not."

The intern nodded. "Right, memorize that. We're on air in ten."

* * *

"...due to the unprecedented attack on important individuals working for the public sector by who we suspect to be agents from Octo Valley, we are forced to bring these perpetrators to justice using special forces personnel working in conjunction with the Military Police..."

"...green means infantry, gold means special forces. Special forces are to report to deployment centers as soon as possible..."

"...the location of deployment centers is on the map given to you when you become eligible for military service. If you have misplaced this map, call this number in order to get directions to your nearest deployment center..."

Ika opened the front door of his condominium, plopping on the neon-coloured couch with a large manila envelope in hand. Ika's mother came into the room. "So, you got your age of majority package!"

"Yep! Gonna open it now... hopefully I got something good." He ripped open the top and tossed it aside, shoving his hand eagerly inside.

"...you should probably check the colour of your draft card."

"What, why?" Ika took out his gold draft card.

* * *

There was another side to the border. A side much cleaner than the other. Cobblestone made its way to paved asphalt, brick to vast rounded monoliths of glass and concrete, not a single piece of trash on the ground. Even on the very border, there wasn't very much crime. The Military Police patrolled constantly there, and career criminals are smarter than to commit crimes right when they had entered Inkopolis.

None of the buildings had windows facing the border. Rooftops had massive opaque fences installed facing the ghetto. Nobody could see what the Great Turf War had caused. The only hope of figuring out the secret to Octo Valley was actually talking to an Octarian.

Meshi's phone vibrated in his pocket, which he took out and eyed the caller ID. His mother took notice. "That your girlfriend?"

"Yeah, that's her alright. I'll be in my room if you need me." He hopped off the couch, headed to his room, and closed the door.

* * *

Seth was alone in his quarters, anxiously waiting for the phone to pick up. It seemed like forever since the two of them talked, even though it had only been a day. The nausea didn't make time pass very quickly; it was almost as if the guilt of what he had done was trying to kill him.

"Hello?"

"Meshi... good lord, work's been tough. Quotas keep going up, the manager is overworking us... I feel absolutely exhausted."

"Aw, Seth... you should take that up with your manager or something. That doesn't seem right."

"Can't. Things don't work that way in the valley. They'll can me."

"Hey, you didn't call me last night. What's up?"

"Had to work through break. I wouldn't have gotten everything I needed done if I took it. Sorry."

"No, Seth... it's fine. Listen, I... a lot of shit's going down here on this side. They're deploying the special forces... I think they're going to be going into the valley soon."

"Oh shit, really? Fuck..."

"Yeah... fortunately, I'm not getting deployed. I'm infantry."

"I... might have to fight. I'm not sure if warehouse work is covered, but the good old General's definitely going to want to make things as hard as they can be for you guys. That means a lot of conscripts."

"Well, it's not like they can really enforce a draft, right? Takoyaki's not even really the leader."

"Oh, he is. Trust me. Regional manager hasn't had any power in fucking decades."

"...you know, my friend saw the shot."

Seth moved himself away from the phone for a bit, closing his eyes and straining not to show any emotion except surprise. "R-really?"

"Yeah... I still haven't talked to him after that. I heard he was really good at turf war, so I'm kind of worried he's special forces."

"That must've been... fucking terrifying."

"Inkling resolve's pretty strong. Besides, he's kept his cool before during turf war. Have you seen what splatting looks like? They, like... explode into fucking ink. It's pretty crazy first few times around."

"Well, yeah, but... you have the knowledge that the other person will just rematerialize. This chick's dead. Fucking gone. That must hit a lot harder than just shooting ink at someone."

"We'll see how he feels when I call him."

"I guess, man."

"...so, Seth... you promise me that we'll stick through this? Whatever happens?"

"I... can't promise anything, unfortunately. This shit's fucking dangerous. Cell reception might go out, I might get killed by the MP, drafted, whatever. You guys in your cozy condos don't have to worry about that stuff too much."

"Just in case, let's meet up tomorrow. Same place. I just... I wanna see you again before this shit goes down."

"Definitely. I don't want our last memory together to be some phone call in a break room."


	6. Chapter 6

The tears didn't usually flow this freely. Marie had been able to keep it together for all these years. Not tonight. As soon as she had awoken from her nightmare, she began sobbing. Sobbing as hard as she ever did.

The tensing and relaxing of the muscles, her gut sucking in as she pulled in air, and the distressed crying of the idol got the attention of the person occupying the bed with her.

Nara lifted his head up, his arms wrapped around her waist. Groggily, he let one of his arms leave and his now free hand rest on the idol's shoulder. "That's it... let it allll out..."

The sobbing continued for a while, and Nara was silent for most of it. He didn't really need to say anything. He had a hard time thinking of how Marie would've dealt with this if he wasn't here.

* * *

"Good evening. I'm Rabas from Inkopolis News. Yesterday, we have gotten confirmation from the Military Police that the assailant involved in the assassination of Callie Cuttlefish was an Octarian hired by the current leader of Octo Valley, DJ Boava Takoyaki.

As a result of this unethical and unprovoked attack against the Inkling people, a state of war has been declared by the Ministry of Domestic Affairs based in Calamari County. Turf war will continue for this period, but might suffer interruptions due to Octarian attacks on Inkopolis.

If you see an Octarian, report them to the Military Police immediately or face penalties up to and including a 10,000 dollar fine and 2 years in jail. The Ministry of Public Service has also issued a curfew from 10:00 PM to 7:00 AM, Inkopolis Standard Time, in order to ensure the safety of the people living in Calamari County.

Last, but certainly not least... if you hear the air raid sirens, there is a bomb shelter located at the bottom of every building in Calamari County. If you are away from any buildings, you are to assume a protective position. Find the nearest piece of cover, duck under it and curl up into a ball with your hands cupping the top of your head.

Remember, the Octarians are not your friends. Do not be deceived by their lies.

I'm Rabas from Inkopolis News, signing off."

* * *

Seth stuffed the phone in his pocket. He was looking forward to his meeting with Meshi; that phone call was long as all hell and continued quite a bit after they had discussed meeting. He was curious what kind of disguise Meshi had in mind when he thought of making one.

Whatever the case, he straightened himself out and dusted his dust-coloured military fatigues. On the shoulder was an insignia; an octopus holding an assault rifle and pistol, with six magazines occupying the rest of the limbs. The octopus glared menacingly to anyone who dared look at it, and on the bottom were the words "Octavio's Fist".

There weren't too many in Seth's regiment within Octavio's Fist. About twenty or so, each having their own quarters in Takoyaki's complex; it used to be ten before Octavio was killed, but good old Boava wasn't going to risk having the same security standards as his late predecessor. The complex was expanded early into Boava's reign. Nobody knows where he got the money from.

Seth stood to attention and saluted. The salute of the regular military wasn't welcomed here; in Takoyaki's presence, the right arm extended fully and at a 70-degree angle, along with a clenched fist, was the only thing that wouldn't get you laughed out of the room.

Boava took notice to this. "Thank you, please sit down."

Seth obeyed, sitting down and taking out the Polaroid. "Here. Proof."

"A little small talk would be nice first. Come on, I'm a busy man. What's new with you?"

"Not much, sir. Paad's been blabbing to me about the revolution and all that sort of thing."

"Pff, please. Paad is nothing more than a radical. Too anti-Inkling for my tastes. In order for this revolution to work, we need to get them on our side."

"That's... possible for sure. There's a lot of Inklings on the border that are at least... well, they understand a bit more than the rest of the county."

"Indeed. Now, let's see that Polaroid."

Seth slid it onto the desk. "It's a bit blurry, but that was as good as I could do. Hands were a bit shaky afterwards, ya know."

Boava eyed the Polaroid, nodding. "Good. There's no way they could cover something like that up."

"They haven't even tried, from what I've heard. They blamed it on the Octarians almost right away, sir."

"Really? I suppose that makes things easier. Most of those kids don't even realize the Octarians are still around, yes?"

"That's right, sir."

"So if the media reports that the Octarians just shot someone... well, now they know we exist. They know we exist, they'll try to find out more information. That's when we come in with the truth. What these fascist pigs have done to us."

A few seconds pass, but Boava spoke again. "Right. Go tell the other regiments to prepare the rockets. They invade us, we have to defend ourselves somehow."

* * *

"...dude, I'm special forces."

"Oh, what? That's a bummer." Though Ika could not see it, it was obvious from his voice that Meshi was frowning on the other end.

"Yeah. Guess I should've lost a few extra matches in Ranked. What do you think they'll have me do?"

"No idea. This kind of thing isn't really... well, it apparently hasn't happened in a few generations. Not as big as this."

"My dad said he fought the Octarians before."

"Oh, really? Yeah, I think mine did too, but... everything's going so fast. Usually, these things escalate normally and aren't all rushed like this has been."

"I actually didn't know about any of this until last night. My dad basically just... told me everything. Said everything I knew was a lie and stuff."

"Oh, dude, I could've told you that shit. Things are nuts where I live. There are holes in the wall, so I can, like... peek into the ghetto sometimes. It's really terrible on the other side."

"I guess I'll be able to see it when I can. You think I'll be alright?

"Well, if your parents came out of it alright... I'm just sort of worried about my girlfriend, right?"

"How's she doing?"

"Worried. We're both living on the border, so if those guys decide to hit either of our buildings... well, we're both screwed I guess. I'm gonna meet up with her before this shit goes down. Live it up like we're going to die tomorrow."

"Wow, Meshi. That's kind of... morbid. We've got anti-missile systems, you know."

"I can see the border from my backyard, Ika. I don't think the system's going to do shit."

"...hey, dude?"

"Yeah?"

"Have any Octarians come through the border when you were in your backyard?"

"...maybe. Maybe a few?"

"What were they like?"

"One of them tried to mug me while the other one stopped that mugging, so... 50/50, I guess."


	7. Chapter 7

"I feel like I killed her, Nara. I was the one pulling the trigger."

Marie gulped down her drink, her expression almost completely stoic. All emotion had drained out of her; all that was on her mind was how much pain she caused. If she hadn't pulled the trigger then, if HQ had waited a bit longer...

"They would've killed someone anyway. Those damn takos are always fucking things up."

"...I understand why they did it."

"They're terrorists, Marie. They're all fucking terrorists. You know this."

She shakily gulped down more of her drink. "We were shooting _their_ idols out there. What's the difference?"

Nara silently turned the radio on. "...green means infantry, gold means special forces. Special forces are to report..."

And with that, Nara turned the radio off. "Of course. Of fucking course." Nara nonchalantly unplugged the radio and held it in his hands for a few seconds, trembling in rage. He took the radio and threw it across the room, barely missing Marie's head and hitting a nearby wall.

"Nara!"

"These motherfuckers..." Nara walked up to the radio.

Marie took in more of her drink.

Nara began stomping the radio, harder and harder until it was nothing but a scrap of copper and steel. Once he was done, he raggedly gasped for breath and let his hands rest on his knees.

The pop star simply stared.

He let out one last exhale, looking down at the mess he made. "...fuck, what the hell did I just do?"

"Took out your rage on an inanimate object." Nara looked back at Marie. "Better than curbstomping someone, I guess."

"Not much better. That was an expensive radio."

"Whatever. I'm still a fucking pop star. I'll buy another one." The glass was finished and discarded as quickly as it was poured. "...flashback, right?"

"Yeah... the... the firefight we had. The one where... you know..."

"Hospital?"

"That one."

Marie froze in place. The memories rushed back to her. "Listen, there was... nothing we could do. We'd have gotten a court martial if we did."

"All those people..."

"We saved one of them."

"It was a fucking tako."

"So? He wasn't wearing fatigues."

Nara walked towards Marie once again, stopping just a bit in front of her. "...whatever, I just... I don't want that happening again. And it just looks like it fucking might, ya know?"

Marie silently nodded in agreement.

Nara took a few deep breaths, silence permeating the room. "Hey, about last night, Marie... you were going through a lot, so I... I dunno. Just thought maybe you needed that sort of thing."

"Oh, that. Don't worry about it."

Nara gave a small smile. It was the first time he had done it since Callie got shot. "...you really don't cry like that usually."

"Yeah, well... I usually don't lose someone either."

* * *

The physical examination room was cold and sterile, a sheer contrast to the colours of the outside world. A doctor in military fatigues outfitted with chocolate-chip camo stood in front of him, writing on a clipboard. "Right, you're fit for service."

Ika grew a bit concerned. "It's over? But... you haven't even touched me yet."

"Get your uniform in the other room, I've got other patients."

Ika left the examination room without much thought. It looked like the entire city was lining up for the same examination. Even some that he had seen in turf war just a few days ago. None of them looked happy to be there.

They were talking to each other in the line. "...this is bullshit...", "...we already beat the Octarians...", "...I've got an assignment due on Friday...", but one of the comments stood out to him. "...why fight the Octarians?"

An officer for the MP overheard that. "Who said that?"

An Inkling reluctantly rose his hand. "I just don't get it. So what if a radical shoots one of us? We've been over there shooting people for deca-"

The officer looked at the Inkling, grabbing his arm mid-sentence before anyone could pay much thought to what he said. "Come with me, will you?" The Inkling looked around as he was dragged out from the line. "Hey, let go of me!" Despite the protests of the young man, along with somewhat unintelligible truths about the Octarians, he was taken to a secluded location.

That was the first gunshot Ika had heard since the concert.

* * *

Nara threw the scraps of radio in the trash. "...do you want to go in?"

"Oh fuck no... I can't even think of doing sniper work right now."

"Hm... maybe if I tell them what's happening, they'll lay off."

Marie crossed her arms. "When has the state ever been empathetic before? I say we just fucking skip."

Nara looked back at Marie, his eyes widening. "That's a felony."

"By the time it becomes a felony, this shit'll probably have blown over." She rubbed her hand on her own face. "Besides, my existence was a felony anyway. I'm used to it."

* * *

Seth and Takoyaki were walking down one of the various corridors in the complex, the acoustics of the concrete echoing their voices considerably. "This is the year, Seth. I can feel it. The entire fucking thing's going to collapse on itself."

"The assassination might've strengthened resolve a bit. The youth are just going to see some Octarian guy shooting one of their idols."

"It makes them ask questions that the state cannot answer. Besides, it's better someone who actually partook in Octavio's death than an IED on some random crowded street." Takoyaki stopped and turned to Seth. "That's also why news stations are our biggest target. We've got to get word around about conditions in the valley. Things should fall into place then."

"Why do this now? Why not, say... five years ago?"

"Five years ago, security was pretty strict around the plaza. They got lazy. Let something sneak through." He smirked at Seth. "They won't get a second chance to tighten things up. Unlike us."


	8. Chapter 8

"Are diners always this bright and colourful, Mesh?" The restaurant was filled to the brim with people, the sounds of the latest turf war footage and commentary echoing from the bar on the other end. There was no way anyone could hear an individual conversation from anywhere outside their seats. Chatter was an ever-prevalent, almost overwhelming fact of Inkling restaurants.

"...I'm guessing you guys don't have that back at home." To everyone else, it looked like Meshi was sitting across from a red-haired Inkling. Meshi's theory on Octarians proved correct.

That theory was that if you put all of their tentacles up in a ponytail, maybe tuck them into the headband, and put what looked to be Inkling tentacles over it, you'd get an almost perfect disguise. The raccoon mask stuck to Seth's face covered up the only remnants of his Octarian self. "Much more subtle. I don't even get the whole 'throw bright colours at the wall' thing."

"A lot of artists got inspiration from... I think it was archaeological digs."

"Ohhh, you guys have those? So what kind of stuff did you guys dig up? Like... audio cassettes? VHS?"

Meshi rose an eyebrow, his face twisting in confusion for a few seconds. "...what the hell are those?"

Seth's expression grew a tad sombre as he sighed. "Guess the state's keeping that from you too." Seth looked side to side. "Fuck, might as well tell you. Analog recording devices. It's been a bit of a tradition to keep these things preserved." Seth took a sip of his drink. "Most of them were empty when they were just dug up, but... others had stuff on them."

"Like what?"

"...okay, you ready for this? You know those guys, what with the faked fossil?"

"That one with the working electronics inside it?"

"Fossil had some truth to it after all. VHS cassettes are somewhat... shit when they have stuff on them. Turns out copying those tapes over and over ruins the quality each time. Original tapes are first generation. Copies are second generation, copy of that copy is third generation, and so on."

"That's... well, that kind of sucks."

"It can take a lot to completely make a cassette indecipherable. 20 generations or so. You gotta keep doing it though, because the tape only lasts so long. Anyway, point is, you can still see... people on these cassettes. An entire civilization before our own. Music, animation, acting, art..."

"...holy shit."

"Yeah, it's intense stuff. I'm used to it considering I've been exposed to this since I was born, but you..."

"Was it, like... caveman stuff? What are we talking here?"

"About the same, actually. More advanced, even. It looked like... fuck, like there was an entire world outside of Inkopolis. Outside even the colonies. Cultural differences that make Octarians and Inklings look like the best of friends."

"...hey, Seth?" Meshi slid his hand into Seth's, squeezing slightly as he let out a small smile. Seth responded in kind. "Could we actually watch some today? You prooobably don't have them, but..."

Seth grinned in response, lifting a handle from the small duffle bag at his side with his free hand. "What do you think the bag's for?"

* * *

An Inkling in the military never really settled down until about a year into service. Turf war helped with what kind of work they'd be doing; what weapons they liked, how well they did, etcetera. They needed to prove themselves in the field before any specialization could happen, of course. Splattershots are not rifles.

Both Callie and Marie had turned 18 at about the same time. As their 19th birthday approached, they got simple glimpses of what they'd be specialized as. Talks of Marie becoming a sniper and Callie a point man. In this regard, Callie's job never actually changed. Sometimes, she had wished it changed.

"One, Two, check the door."

"On it, sir." Both agents stood on either side of the door. The handle was turned by Two. "Locked."

The 'hospital' did not deserve the title it stood on. It looked more like a closed off, shady, and decrepit motel. The windows were boarded up as much as they could be; there was no view from the outside. All five fireteam members were going into this blind.

There were reports of something happening in there. Mostly Octarian activity. The fireteam offered to check things out, but HQ postponed to get a good sitrep. Which was impossible. Everybody had hoped that nothing urgent was happening. There was no way to tell other than to know that there are hostiles in there.

The squad leader gathered the rest of the squad behind him. "Alright, breach and clear. Use plastic."

A rectangular charge came out of Two's backpack, and it stuck above the lock like glue. Two turned her head to the squad leader. "You're sure there aren't any other entrances?"

The squad leader nodded. "We'll have to breach from here."

Two nodded, holding the detonator in her hand and counting down. Three. Two. One. The explosive blew and the door flew open.

Before One even had a chance to go in, the sound of gunfire rocketed from the hospital and the whoosh of a bullet flying past came extremely close to both agents' heads.

Squad leader was down. Shot right in the head. Three and Four quickly followed suit as the assault rifle fired, fully automatic. One and Two were the only ones left. Both of them looked back at the puddle of blood forming between those three injured. One immediately made her shock known. "Shit!"

The raucous of the rifle stopped for a few brief seconds. One came through the door. Two quickly followed.


	9. Chapter 9

There was no light in the hospital. Due to the boarded up windows, that meant that it was pitch black in there. It looked like there was some semblance of light beforehand; a shattered, but still burning lantern flicked to its side, the clay floor failing to ignite.

The firefight had happened so quickly that neither of them had time to turn on their flashlight. First few muzzle flares gave off the position of anyone entering, so the strategy there was to wait until somebody fired and then to fire back at that general location. It worked superbly.

A few seconds had passed after the last few gunshots. One and Two took a deep sigh of relief, finally turning on the flashlight. Two did it first. The light shone on a red-haired Inkling, who immediately put his gun down and his hands up upon seeing a faint outline of the chocolate chip camouflage illuminated by the excess light. "Don't shoot, friendly!"

"...what the fuck?" A twinge of complete confusion crept into Two's voice, her finger coming off the trigger. She looked back at One quickly. "It's clear. Radio HQ and tell them that we've got basically all of our squad dead except us."

One looked over to the Inkling, raising an eyebrow before nodding slowly. "Riiight... why's he here?"

The red-haired Inkling gulped. "Where's... the rest of my squad?"

Two looked over to One. "Would you mind shining your flashlight around? I would take my flashlight off of this guy, but..."

One complied, turning on her flashlight and shining it around the room. Almost the first thing she noticed was a dead Inkling just in front of the doorway. "Uh, Marie...?"

* * *

The jeep ride into Octo Valley was routine for the most part. It seemed like hundreds lined the road, and they were all driving as slowly as they could. There was no colourful equipment like turf war in any of the Inklings inside the vehicles; just a drab uniform that was ubiquitous to everyone.

Ika couldn't sleep last night. He had just learned about Octo Valley's existence, and yet was going straight into the ghetto. He feared what he'd see there. There were no conversations. There was only a brooding silence that had infected everyone within earshot. Finally, the border was in sight.

* * *

The VCR was easily hooked into Meshi's large CRT television. "Alright, so how do you go to channel 3?"

"...channel what?"

Seth silently fiddled with the remote control. "There it is." The Octarian opened up the duffle bag further, letting Meshi peek inside. "There's a ton of these. Don't worry, labels are in Inkish."

Meshi walked up closer, kneeling down next to Seth and wrapping his arm around his shoulders. "Right..." He shuffled through the VHS cassettes, trying to find a name that popped out at him. "...The Godfather?"

"Oh yeah, that's a really good one. Pretty long though." Seth shuffled through the cassettes with Meshi. "Latest one I have is... Bourne Identity, I think. Made in... 2002."

"2002?"

"It's probably some dating system the people before us used. I had to set the VCR's time and the latest it went was 2004."

"So that means these guys... had only lived for 2,000 years?"

"That's the most popular theory. We're trying to find newer VHSes all the time, but the latest we could find was one released in 2006. It's possible that's when shit hit the fan." Seth took out the VHS for Scarface. "It's also possible they switched to a better format and these things were just relics of the past even to them. Why else would they bury them, you know?"

"Why don't we watch that one, then?"

Seth gulped slightly. "It's... it's not very good." Seth's hands started nervously shaking as he took Scarface out of its dust cover. "This one's much better. Trust me."

* * *

"HQ, this is One reporting in, over."

"One, this is HQ, go ahead."

"Multiple casualties, both Inkling and Octarian. We've got one Inkling alive that said that an Inkling fireteam cleared this area about an hour ago, over."

"10-4, One, keep the area secure until we can get there, over."

"Wilco, HQ. Bring evac for at least twenty. Out."

Marie's eyes widened as she shone her flashlight into one of the treatment areas. "Callie, come the fuck over here!"

Both Callie and the red-haired Inkling rushed to Marie's location. Inside were about half a hundred dead Octarians. They were not wearing fatigues nor did they have any guns. They looked freshly dead, some of them still bleeding. Marie wanted to say something, but no words came out.

They stepped inside the mass grave, shining their flashlight around the area. "Callie, go check the other treatment areas."

"...alright. Let's go, man." Marie was alone in there. None of the Octarians in there looked unscathed, and some of them were clearly under 16, making them ineligible for military service. One of said adolescents let out a large exhale, a slight gurgle in his continued breathing.

Marie immediately took notice to this. "CALLIE!"

Callie rushed back. "What is it?"

Marie ripped a portion of her own sleeve off, using it to apply pressure to the wound in the Octarian's chest. "Shine your light on him." Callie hesitated for a few seconds. 'FUCKING DO IT!"

* * *

Takoyaki had just gotten out of his jeep, walking over towards the rocket platforms. "Alright, everything set up?"

A non-commissioned officer came up to Takoyaki, giving him the raised fist salute. "Rockets are ready to be fired at a moment's notice."

"What about the IEDs? Those good too?"

"About as good at they will get. As soon as they cross the border, blam."

Takoyaki looked over to the ivory towers of Inkopolis. "Right, fire when ready."

* * *

"...you wanna work, eh? 10 fuckin' hours, you own nothing, you got nothing? Do you want a chivato on every corner, man, looking after you, everything you do, everything you say, man?" The movie blared from the TV, almost at full blast. Of course, it wasn't in Inkish or anything equivalent; the only way either Meshi or Seth could understand was from the subtitles at the bottom.

Meshi was cuddling up to Seth on the couch, resting his head on the Octarian's chest. "...hey, now he's talking about eating octopus."

Seth nodded, his arms wrapped around the Inkling. "Yeah... not very surprising when you think about it. They _did_ own the sea, after all."

Meshi nuzzled against Seth's shoulder, sighing. "Hey, Seth?"

"Yeah?"

"You ever think... that you should've been born an Inkling?"

Seth lightly kissed Meshi's forehead. "Maybe... then again, it wouldn't make too much of a difference. Then the MP would start fucking with us for our sexuality."

"Well, I didn't mean... that. I meant your life in general. I... kind of wish you were an Inkling so that you could... y'know... live a good life and stuff."

Seth nodded, closing his eyes. "There's really no point in speculating on that. It's just painful how basically every opportunity was taken away from me because I was born on the other side of the wall." Seth smiled, leaning his head against Meshi's. "But... maybe that could change. Maybe, ten years from now..." He looked up. "I won't have to always go to your place."

Meshi chuckled quietly to himself. "Maybe we'll be able to get marri-"

A loud explosion knocked both Seth and Meshi across the room as a fireball engulfed the building.


	10. Chapter 10

The order was given. Hundreds of rockets, all stationed on one plot of land, fired their payload. The skies darkened as the flames from each one brightened before finally launching to their final destination; Inkopolis. Several people were clapping and cheering loudly at what they assumed was justice. Paad was one of them. Takoyaki looked over to Paad. A manic, almost psychopathic glee was in his eyes. The general had wondered why Seth and Paad were so different; Seth knew what he was doing was necessary, but it almost seemed like Paad enjoyed the pain of the other side.

A subordinate for Octavio's Fist came up to Takoyaki. "Sir, Seth isn't where he told us he was."

"...he's not at his place?"

"We checked before we sent you over. No notes, nothing. His VCR was gone as well as all of his cassettes."

Takoyaki grumbled. "Fine, send a search team. If you can't find him on this side of the border, try crossing it. He might've gone soft and tried to defect."

"Yes sir."

* * *

The convoy stopped. The first jeep went through the gate. Then the second one. Papers had to be checked all along the toll so that things are in order. Of all the long line ups Ika had to go through, he was assuming being in a jeep wasn't going to be one of them.

Finally, the jeep before him just cleared their papers and it was their turn. Air raid sirens started sounding from the Inkopolis side of the border. A massive volley of rockets began hitting border skyscrapers right through, the explosions leaking out from the other side in a massive fireball. The rest of the rockets went over to the city beyond.

Most of them blew out of the sky before they even reached their target; fireballs popping up and down the skyline as Ink Dome interceptors were launched from the plaza. Ika breathed a sigh of relief after realizing that they were safe from most of the damage. He just hoped Meshi didn't get hurt from one of those missiles.

* * *

Seth coughed and hacked loudly as he regained consciousness. He looked around, trying his best to see in the thick smoke. Half of the room was on fire. "M-Meshi...? Meshi?!" There was nothing. Calling any more would probably waste air. Seth crawled to the nearest wall, smashing the low-mounted emergency panel. Inside was a parachute. Seth, a little confused at first, put the parachute on. Then he lifted a nearby window open and kicked the screen out. Seth crawled back down on the ground to catch air, looking back solemnly at the scene. He stood up again and ran out of the window.

* * *

The interrogation room was monochrome and without feeling, white walls contrasting with the black seats and table. There was no sign of a door at first, and Seth only realized there was, in fact, a door when the wall gave way, allowing an Inkling soldier to step inside.

Marie sat down on the other side of the red-haired Octarian, a blood-soaked bandage wrapped around his chest. "...you're lucky to be alive." She shuffled through a pile of papers she had taken in with her, looking through them. "...Seth, is that right?"

"Yes." Seth fumbled with his fingers. "Can I get some water?"

Marie took a bottle of water out of the pockets of her uniform, handing it to Seth. "You must be pretty thirsty. How long were you in there?"

Seth took a sip of water, taking a few deep breaths. "They... they shoved us into this hospital for... fuck, I don't know, a day? There aren't any holes to the outside, so... my sister worked there... I don't know if you guys realize this, but Octarians work young."

Marie nodded. "I don't think I have to tell you that we didn't order the fireteam to do what they did in there."

"...yeah." Seth started gulping down the water at an alarming rate. "Where's my sister?"

"...she was working there at the time?"

"Yeah... she was with me in the room. Her name's Aloe."

Marie cringed internally. Seth was the only one who survived.

* * *

The jeep began accelerating. A split second later, the dirt next to the road just a few jeeps in front of them exploded into a cluster of white particles, deafening Ika temporarily as the ringing of his ears set in. The pieces started raining down, leaving a trail of white behind them. The driver started getting out. "WILLIE PETE! EVERYONE OUT OF THE VEHICLES!"

Willie Pete. Figures that they would use white phosphorus for something like this. As the pieces of ignited phosphorus rained down on the jeeps, people's clothes caught on fire. They screamed as their bodies were engulfed in flames, trying desperately to roll and put it out. Alas, it did nothing. Ika was lucky enough to have avoided that fate.

* * *

Marie looked out the window as the explosion rocked her condo. "What... the fuck was that?" She saw the trails of white phosphorus in the sky, dropping down on the helpless conscripts. "Oh shit."

Nara rushed to her. "What's going on- oh. Oh fuck. Ohhh fuck."

Marie turned to Nara. "Get your uniform on. We're not avoiding this one."

* * *

Immediately after the phosphorus attack, what seemed like tens of Octarian soldiers, dressed in civilian clothing, came out of the concrete jungle and started shooting the convoy. Getting shot was more subtle than Ika thought; many people out in the open only dropped dead after the blood had seeped into their fatigues.

Ika ran for the nearest piece of good cover, sliding into it and readying his weapon. A person who was in Ika's jeep tried to make his way to Ika, only to collapse to the ground and let out a low, nasally exhale as he made his last involuntary breath. The loud cracking of gunfire was dampened by the constant ringing of Ika's ears.

There was nothing Ika could do. His fireteam leader was most likely dead, and there was no way he was going to pop his head out to fire. All he could do was rely on his radio; something that he hadn't even been taught due to how quick conscripts were put through.

Some people had gotten into cover as well, which Ika took notice to. "HEY!" The other soldier didn't hear him, but he looked towards Ika. A grenade landed next to the other soldier's feet. He tried to kick it away but to no effect. A cloud of red spurted up as the grenade's timer hit zero.

Ika had realized one thing in the midst of all the chaos. His entire turf war career was preparing him for this.


	11. Chapter 11

"Seth!" Paad called out, his brother coated in ash and soot. "What happened, brother?"

"Some... motherfucking Inklings stole my tapes. Had to go across the border and then you... you guys... bombed the building they were in."

Paad's eyes twisted in confusion. "Why would a squid want your tapes?"

"Fuck if I know. I didn't even realize people knew about those tapes."

"Yeah... fishy, that."

"Look, Paad, I... I'll explain it later. I'm covered in soot, there's a fucking war going on over there... compared to what's happening, none of it's important."

"Oh yeah, about that. We're about to storm the wall."

"Already?"

"Yeah. Stupid fuckin' inklings really boned up the deployment." Paad started walking towards the rally point. "Like, especially so. I would say it's typical, but it really isn't."

"...you think...?"

"The witch is dead? I'm thinking so, yes. He was basically the only somewhat competent one."

* * *

"Rabas." The intern bumped the news anchor's shoulder. The other looked up at him, his body withdrawn and closed in. "...it's a quagmire in there."

"I... I know."

"...should we report it?"

"No. We're under direct orders from the state to prevent any information from leakin-" Rabas was handed a letter from another intern, which was quickly opened. "...when was that command given?"

"Well, they rushed through the front gate an hour ago, didn't they?"

"Right, okay... I guess it's because the leader of the county died two hours before that."

"...oh."

Rabas sighed, opening one of his desk's drawers and grabbing a bottle of liquor. He untwisted the cap and began drinking it by the neck. "Well... guess I'm permanently head of Inkopolis News, then."

"And the bearer of bad news."

"...shit, should I call her?"

"I think it's better if the state handles that."

"No, no, think about it. If I'm the first person to break the news... fuck, maybe she'll give me an actual news station to run."

"...R-Rabas! For squid's sake, this really isn't the time to think about furthering your..." Before the intern finished, Rabas was already dialling the number.

* * *

Marie sat down on the gaudy green couch in the living room, rubbing her hands up against her face as she tried to mentally prepare herself. Nara was leaning against the wall. "Fuck, Nara... I'm not ready for this."

"I know you aren't... not much we can do about it. You know the rules."

Marie sighed, tearing up a bit. The sombre silence was only cut short when Marie's cell phone began to ring.

Nara sat beside her, reaching into her pocket and taking it out. "...Inkopolis News? Why the fuck are they calling?" Nara looked to Marie, who was practically sobbing. "...mind if I take this for you?" Marie shook her head. With that, Nara stood up, touching his hand to the idol's shoulder for a quick moment before walking into the other room. "Hello?"

* * *

"Hi, yes, may I speak with Marie, please?" Rabas leaned back against his chair, tapping his fingers against the desk. The intern glanced at him, worried.

"...she's going through a lot right now. Could you call back? We're just about to be deployed and... well, she needs to be ready for it."

Rabas gave a worried smile. "About that... listen, this may be really hard on Marie, so I trust you to break the news, but... Joji died a few hours ago. Part of the reason why there's been such a clusterfuck at the border is because there's been a breakdown of communication in HQ. You... aren't technically supposed to know this yet. The state's coming by the break the news too, but-"

* * *

Nara growled slightly as he heard that Rabas had broken the news early. "Slow the fuck down. Why the fuck are _you_ calling, then?"

"Listen, Marie was a good friend to me back when she was doing the news, so I really want to... save you the awkwardness. I know you guys are getting close to walking over to the recruitment station. Hoped that maybe I could catch you guys before you did."

"Yeah, well, thanks, whatever. It's just... a bad time to be calling."

"I understand. Honestly, the people that are going to be coming to your door anyway aren't the best at empath- wait, what the fuck was that?"

"What was what?"

"Sounded like someone screaming."

* * *

As Paad cried out at the top of his lungs, the gurgle being barely silenced as the war cry echoed through the dilapidated ghetto, there was soon an outpouring of anguish from the rest of the population. First, ten, then hundreds, then thousands cried out as loud as they could, and soon the entire valley was letting out a bloodcurdling war cry.

The mob of uniformed, armoured members of Octavio's Fist took this opportunity to storm one of the larger holes within the wall, pouring out into a suburb like a leaking drain. At first, the soldiers patrolling the area didn't hear the soldiers enter over the screams of the valley. When they finally did, there were already about fifty within Inkopolis proper. The patrolling soldiers had no chance.

* * *

A chill ran down Rabas' spine, a slow shudder coming from his lips. "You heard that too, right?"

"No shit."

"Right, I have to go. It sounded like it was getting closer." Rabas hurriedly hung up. "You think they'd attack this place?"

The intern beside Rabas nodded. "This is an active network to the masses. I could imagine them wanting it for their propaganda machine."

"Maybe... hope they don't do anything too drastic..."

* * *

Seth walked up to his brother, completely outfitted in body armour as he cradled a rustic rifle in his hands. "...is that what it sounds like?"

"Sounds magnificent, doesn't it, brother? That's the cry of our people." He stood over a dead Inkling, pillaging the ammunition from magazine pouches on him. "Here, take this. Same calibre." Seth was handed a relatively pristine magazine, and sure enough, it was the same type that went into his gun.

Seth shoved one of the magazines into an empty pouch, no feeling evident in his face. "So... what now?"

"Right, Takoyaki said that Inkopolis News is straight forward from here. He'll send soldiers to secure this neighbourhood now that everyone's dead, so we can move forward and kill everyone one of those motherfuckers in that building-"

"That wasn't part of the plan."

"...what?"

"Takoyaki wants the people in Inkopolis News alive."

"He only wants that Rabas shithead alive. We don't have to spare anyone else." He looked over to a worried Seth, walking forward. "Besides... we can probably operate a news station better than they can."

"Listen, Paad... they did nothing to us. If we kill civilians, then..."

"Then what? It's not like it matters if we kill a few. Shit happens."

"I'm sure they were thinking the same thing about Aloe."

Paad stopped in his tracks and slowly turned to his brother. "Listen here, you fucking disloyal shit. You keep forgetting that these people aren't innocent. For generations, we've been under the fucking Inkling yoke. They use _those_ people in _those_ buildings to spread lies about us. What do people do in a hospital, Seth? There are only good, charitable things a hospital does. Not like contributing to a fascist propaganda machine."

Seth stood in silence for a few moments. "Right... and doesn't it seem a little schizo that after they massacred an entire hospital, the only people who were there to help were Inklings? If they were just one coherent hive-mind, they would've left me for dead."

Paad grit his teeth. "Maybe they realized you weren't one of us, Seth. Not an actual Octarian. You're a fucking squid in disguise."

"If I was, I wouldn't have taken the shot."


	12. Chapter 12

The Inkling general stood up from the massive circular table at which he sat. "Whose bright idea was it to deploy into Octo Valley without air support?!"

The room was completely dark aside from the screens that surrounded the table, fluorescent lights aligned to the rim of where these generals sat. This was the war room. On the screens were various strategic locations within Inkopolis, including the plaza, the border area, the area surrounding this massive fortress, and Octo Valley itself.

Another one of the generals spoke up. "Sit the fuck down! We know that the orders came in from the leader himself, so that's all we have to go on."

The general standing refused the suggestion. "Oh come on, we both know that that motherfucker isn't even related to Joji. He probably just lied about being a descendent and we haven't even bothered to check."

Another general, reclining and looking at the feud developing, sighed and spoke up. "Regardless, he's the best we got until Marie comes along. We lose him and our military command is going to be decapitated for good."

A black-haired Inkling opened the door and walked into the war room. Everyone stood to attention as the suited individual made his way to the table. "What's the situation?"

All of the nameless generals sat down on the table at once, one of them pointing to the massive screens. "We're holding off airstrikes for now, but the fact of the matter is that these guys aren't going to let off unless we crush them."

Another one of the generals spoke up. "We already have approximately two regiments of Octavio's Fist that are in Inkopolis, and most of the patrolling troops there are dead. We could redirect troops from the front to deal with this, but we need to ease pressure, and that means airstrikes."

The interim leader crossed his arms. "No. If we do that, we kill civilians. Then more of these terrorist types pop up, and the next thing you know, in a few more years, we'll have the same situation." He put his finger on the table. "Airstrikes are out of the picture."

"Yeah, well, as long as the Octarians are pushing into Inkopolis, then we should counter with as much as we can. No matter what we do..." He lingered a few seconds, snapping his fingers as if trying to remember something.

"Carl."

"Right... Carl. There's always going to be civilian casualties. The only way we could minimize that is to sacrifice the lives of thousands of Special Forces personnel with a defensive perimeter."

The previously-reclining general leaned his back into the chair once again. "And if our goal is a defensive perimeter, then we've already failed."

Carl rubbed the back of his head. "Hm... well, this is a pretty serious situation... right, I'll think about it."

The hot-tempered general rose up from his seat. "Listen... Carl. You've had _hours_ to think about this."

"And I still haven't decided yet-"

"Fuck, are you even in the line of succession? Why are _you_ leading us, you goddamn pansy?!"

* * *

A house in the residential areas of Inkopolis gets a knock on the door.

"Honey, somebody's knocking on the door," A mother of three shouted to her spouse, who came down the steps and into the living room.

"Must be the newspaper." The father of three walked up to the front door and began opening it.

The door opened to an armed militia of Octarians.

* * *

The commander's limo contained two armed guards in the back seat, sandwiching both the current commander and her accompanying friend. It drove with almost reckless abandon through the streets of Inkopolis, eventually hitting a highway and driving out of the city.

The commander sat frozen in a catatonic state. She has no more energy to mourn, or cry, or emote at all. She has to conserve as much as possible in order to run the county during a war that threatens to destroy the way of life that the Inkling people had spent so much time building up.

* * *

The armed militia had stormed the house and gathered the family in the house into a corner, pointing their guns at them and preventing any of them from leaving. Paad was included in this group, looking at the suburban family and sneering as they cowered in fear. "Oh, you're scared? Ahah, that's hilarious. Try living with your stupid fucking rockets pointed at us all day."

Seth looked over to Paad as he sat at the table with the father. "Paad. Settle down, we're not here to stomp all over them." Paad grumbled and straightened out his expression. Seth faced the father of three and continued. "Now, onto business. We know you used to work for Inkopolis News. It was well-publicized why they kicked you out."

"I... yes, I did. Please just... don't do anything to my family, okay?" The father was trembling, barely holding on to coherence.

"As long as everything goes smoothly, you have my word that they will be safe." Seth's expression grew grim as he tapped his fingers on the table. "How do you get into Inkopolis News?"

"...listen, it's been years since I worked there, I-I don't... I don't kno-"

"Yes you do. How do you get in?"

"...please..."

"I'm going to ask you once again. Where is the least guarded entrance? Where does the staff go in?"

The father of three swallowed, starting to sweat. He said nothing.

"There is no reason why you have to make this difficult for us. We have nothing to lose." Seth looked over to the group of Octarians pointing their guns at the family. "You, on the other hand..."

"...okay, okay, please... There's... there's a back entrance. The staff have a keycard, and- and they go in through there. It's... it's unguarded."

"A keycard, huh."

The father's eyes widened. "Listen, I don't have one. They took mine after I got kicked out. Please... please stop pointing guns at them..."

Seth looked over to Paad, making eye contact with him. "...well, do what he says."

Paad lowered his gun and spat in the direction of the family, leading the militiamen away from them. "You got lucky."


End file.
